{
  "id": 17388068,
  "title": "Waymo in Japan: Toyota to build self-driving EVs",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/waymo-in-japan-toyota-to-build-self-driving-evs",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-31T10:22:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times",
    "slug": "the-economic-times",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/waymo-in-japan-driverless-taxis-launch-planned-for-2027-with-toyota-partnership-local-bz4x-evs-to-be-fitted-with-self-driving-technology-uk-expansion-next/articleshow/135397478.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Toyota Motor Corporation and Waymo, the autonomous driving technology company, have announced plans for a collaboration that will see self-driving Toyota bZ4X electric vehicles tested in Japan starting in 2027. The partnership aims to bring Japan's first fully autonomous ride-hailing service to the market, leveraging Toyota's manufacturing expertise and Waymo's cutting-edge autonomous driving technology.\n\nThe companies will begin by manufacturing and equipping the driverless bZ4X vehicles at Toyota's Aichi plant, with the manufacturing and technology integration taking place together at the same facility. This arrangement allows for streamlined collaboration on scaling the fleet of autonomous vehicles. The partnership builds upon a previous agreement announced in April 2025, moving the focus towards actual fleet testing and eventual deployment.\n\nThe autonomous bZ4X vehicles will be designed with passenger comfort and accessibility in mind, featuring spacious rear legroom, automatic doors, a power liftgate, and ambient lighting. These features aim to make boarding and exiting the vehicle more convenient for passengers, aligning with the companies' objective of improving transportation accessibility for those with limited mobility.\n\nBeyond ride-hailing vehicles, Toyota and Waymo also plan to explore the integration of autonomous driving technology into personally owned Toyota vehicles. This could potentially extend the partnership's reach beyond ride-hailing services to other applications aimed at enhancing road safety.\n\nWaymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, citing Toyota's focus on safety, reliability, and vehicle quality. He highlighted Waymo's safety findings, which demonstrate that its autonomous vehicles perform up to 20 times safer than human drivers in terms of serious crash injuries. Toyota executive vice-president and board member Hiroki Nakajima emphasized the importance of integrating vehicles with traffic infrastructure as part of their broader road safety efforts.\n\nThe collaboration with Woven by Toyota, a subsidiary of Toyota, will also explore additional initiatives to reduce road safety incidents. This may include examining how data-driven insights from Waymo's autonomous vehicle operations can contribute to improving safety for other road users.\n\nToyota and Waymo plan to begin testing and validating the autonomous bZ4X fleet in Japan by 2027, with no specific commercial launch date or fleet size announced at this time. Deployment in the UK and other markets served by Waymo is expected to follow in subsequent years. For now, the primary focus remains on vehicle manufacturing, integrating Waymo's autonomous driving hardware, and validating the technology in Japan.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CNA - Business",
        "title": "Toyota, Waymo to test autonomous bZ4Xs in Japan in 2027, eye overseas expansion",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/toyota-waymo-to-test-autonomous-bz4xs-in-japan-in-2027-eye-overseas",
        "published": "2026-10-30T07:11:27.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}